Oklahoma

Oklahoma C Joshua Bates Apologizes for His Meltdown: ‘I Need to Be Way Better’

Published

1 year ago

September 10, 2024

Oklahoma C Joshua Bates Apologizes for His Meltdown: ‘I Need to Be Way Better’

NORMAN — Joshua Bates’ mea culpa has come in layers. But it’s been sincere every time.

First, Bates apologized to his Oklahoma teammates. That came on Saturday night, minutes after the Sooners held on to a 16-12 victory over Houston.

On Monday, OU’s redshirt freshman center apologized to the world.

It was the sixth question to Bates in a post-practice interview that lasted nearly eight minutes. It was the one everyone wanted answered, and Bates took on the glare of the cameras and microphones and a dozen or so local reporters, standing just a few yards from where it all went down.

“I need to be way better in that moment,” Bates said.

The moment in question happened in the closing seconds of the Sooners’ narrow escape of the four-touchdown underdog Cougars.

OU held a four-point lead, and the Sooners were trying to bleed as much time off the clock as possible before pun ting the ball back to Houston. On third down, quarterback Jackson Arnold took the snap at 47 seconds, and the play clock almost immediately reset for 40. But Arnold didn’t go down immediately, hesitating, waiting for Houston defenders to get close.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma offensive line, which had a very difficult night against the Cougar front seven, was holding its ground, aggressively not letting anyone gain ground on Arnold. At the last possible moment, Arnold dropped to the ground, but he was met there — with some force — by some Houston defenders.

Bates, an aggressive young player who plays notoriously hard (it’s been said that he got into three fights in his first preseason training camp last year) didn’t like that, and quickly engaged.

Even as his teammates surrounded him and escorted him away from the melee, Bates’ fury was unrelenting. Within a few seconds, Bates took his helmet off and continued screaming at his adversaries.

Bold. Defiant. Even a little courageous, maybe. Admirable, to be sure, to defend his quarterback with such ferocity.

But the moment Bates escalated things and took off his helmet, it drew an immediate 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which stopped the game clock with 35 seconds to play — and ensured Houston would have one final breath on offense.

Instead of getting the ball back with 4-5 seconds left, the Cougars started possession at their own 13-yard line with 29 seconds to go. They ran four offensive plays and actually gained 42 yards to the OU 45 before the clock finally ran out.

On the “Oklahoma Breakdown” podcast on Sunday, former OU offensive lineman Gabe Ikard called it “the stupidest play I’ve ever (expletive) seen on Owen Field.”

Bates stood up in front the team on Saturday night and apologized for his actions. He reiterated his regret again Monday night.

“I have dealt with it with my team,” he said. “I have apologized to the team, and my No. 1 thing is to make sure I gain the respect of my teammates back.”

“I think what’s most important for me personally is earning the trust of the coaches back,” head coach Brent Venables said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “And I trust Josh. Don’t get me wrong. But that was a tough moment to watch under the circumstances any time. That doesn’t represent me, and it certainly doesn’t represent this program.”

Maybe Bates just finally lost his cool because he’d had such a frustrating night blocking Houston’s defensive tackles. Or maybe he really blew up at seeing Arnold smushed at the bottom of an otherwise unnecessary pile.

“He owned it immediately, felt terrible,” Venables said. “And that still doesn’t take it back. But at the same time, he’s an emotional guy that was going to bat for his quarterback and lost his cool. So we’re not going to make it more than it needs to be. We’re talking about it because you brought it up, but we’re moving forward. His moving forward and earning the respect back from everybody is just (to) go to work.”

“That’s something I’m still down about,” Bates said. “It’s something that I cannot do in that moment. Emotions got to me. That stuff will never happen again. I’ve apologized to the team. I’ve apologized to the coaches. I made it clear I’ll do anything I can to fix that mistake and move on.”

“I know his teammates respect him,” Venables added, “because Josh comes to work, he likes to work, he loves practice. He’ll take every rep in practice if you allow him. So, I don’t think that Josh will do anything other than work, and that’s it. In the locker room, that’s what it’s all about.”

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma lawmakers consider bill to require annual fee for transmission lines on private property

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma lawmakers consider bill to require annual fee for transmission lines on private property

As consumer electricity needs grow, lawmakers are discussing strategies to ease the burden on landowners who don’t want the towers and wires carrying that energy on their property.

As it’s written now, the bill would require transmission owners to pay landowners $2 per foot of line annually. During the committee meeting, Murdock said he introduced the legislation to “start a conversation.”

“ This is an idea of, maybe moving forward, if the landowners are getting a royalty off of the power being pushed across their property, it may make it a little more palatable for someone to have a transmission line go across their property,” he said.

Landowners can enter into easement agreements with companies to set aside portions of their land for the builds. But in some cases, eminent domain is used to obtain a right-of-way.

“ I’m not saying that this is going to do away with eminent domain,” Murdock said. “What I’m hoping is this just makes it a little more palatable.”

Murdock said he spoke with utility companies about the legislation, though he didn’t name them. The bill’s language could change after creating an alternative rate based on conversations with the companies, he said.

Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, said the bill could raise utility rates for consumers living in Oklahoma’s most populous counties if companies charge more to make up for the annual fee.

Murdock pushed back, noting the lines are necessary to deliver electricity to other counties.

“You understand that you flip that light on because — and have that ability to have electricity because — the people in my district have a transmission line that goes across them, getting you that power,” he said.

StateImpact Oklahoma is a partnership of Oklahoma’s public radio stations which relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Donate online.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

Published

15 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

Big night in downtown OKC as the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Denver Nugget and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back on the floor.

Steve McGehee reports live from Paycom Center with the latest on SGA’s return after missing nine games, the Thunder’s push to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, and what getting healthy means for OKC’s title hopes.

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Oklahoma

How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.

Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.

Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.

Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.

For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.

“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.

Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.

The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.

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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.

Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.

“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.

Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.

The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).

OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.

For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.

“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”

On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason.

The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.

“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”

Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.

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